Machine for finishing the edges of leather



H. E. ENSLIN.

MACHINE FOR FINISHING THE EDGES- 0F LEATHER.

APPLICATION FILED NOV- I3, I913- ]I I 9%,3Yfi. Patented Aug. 15, 1916.

Z SHEETS-SHEET I- H. E. ENSLIN.

MACHINE FOR FINISHING THE EDG'ES OF'LEA'THER. APPLICATION FILED Nov. I3,I913.

l ,1 94,37. I Patented Aug. 15, 1916.

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HERBERT E. ENSLIN, OF MALDEN, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO UNITED SHOEMACHINERY COMPANY, OF PATERSON, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented ring. 15, rain.

Application filed November 13, 1913. Serial No. 800,793.

To aZZ w from it may concern:

Be it known that I, HERBERT E. ENsLIN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Maiden, in the county of Middlesex and State ofMassachusetts, have invented certain Improvements in Machines forFinishing the Edges of Leather, of which the following description, inconnection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, likereference characters on the drawings indicating like parts in theseveral figures.

This invention relates to a machine or apparatus for finishing the edgesof pieces of leather such, for example, as are used in the manufactureof shoe uppers, welts, pocket books, etc, said machine being adapted tocarry out the process which is set forth in United States Letters Patentto Halsey and Perkins No. 1,047,211, of December 17, 1912.

In carrying out this process it is very desirable that the shrinkingagent be prevented from reaching the body portion of the leather and berestricted to the margin thereof. One feature of the invention comprisesmeans for shrinking the margin of the piece of leather and means forprotecting the body of the piece from the action of the shrinking means.

Another feature of the invention comprises means for causing theshrinking means to act upon the margin of a piece of leather, means forvarying the length of time that said shrinking means acts upon a givenportion of the margin, and means for simultaneously varying theintensity of the action of said shrinking means.

These and other features of the invention, including certain details ofconstruction and combinations of parts will be described in connectionwith an illustrated machine and pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings,-Figure 1 is a perspective ofan apparatus in which the present lnventlon is embodied; Figs. 2 and 3are respectively an enlarged cross section and an enlarged perspectiveof a piece of leather which has been operated upon; Fig. 4 isanelevation of a portion of the apparatus; Fig. 5 1s an elevation of theelectrically heated shrinking or searing tool shown in Figs. land 4;Fig. 6 is a cross section of the tool on the line 6--6 of Fig. 5; Fig. 7isan elevation of a gas heated tool. which may be used in place of theelectrically heated tool; and Fig. 8 is an enlarged section taken on theline S8 of Fig. 4: but with a piece of leather in place. This figureshows more particularly the relation of the edge gage to the shrinkingtool.

It has been customary to finish the edges of pieces of leather byskiving, cementing and folding the margin so as to produce smooth androunded edges where such edges are exposed to view in the finishedarticle such as a shoe or a glove. According to the present invention,all of these operations are dispensed With, and instead the margin alongone side of the edge to be finished is subjected to shrinkage by theapplication of a highly heated tool.

In the drawings, a piece of leather one edge of which has been finishedby treat ment with a hot tool is shown in Figs. 2 and 3. With regard tothe heat, any destructive temperature which is sufliciently high to searand shrink the marginal portion of one side of the piece of leather,leaving it upon cooling in a hardened permanently shrunken conditionwill serve to carry out the process. The edge of the piece of leathershown in Figs. 2 and 3 has been finished by applying a hot tool to themargin of the flesh side and thereby causing the margin of the grainside to curl so that the finished edge presents the grain side of theleather to view.

The shrinking may be accomplished by applying the shrinking means to allportions of the margin of the leather simultaneously along the edge tobe finished or by applying it progressively either by moving the tool orby moving the leather or by moving both the tool and the leather, theessential thing being merely to shrink the marginal portion on one sidein the manner shown so as to draw or curl the edge of the leather towardthe shrunken side. In the illustrative machine, however, the leather isfed past the shrinking means.

Whenleather is subjected to an intense heat it is more or less plastic,and though the shrinking and curling effect can be secured by simplysearing the marginal portion of one side of the leather, a still moresatisfactory result may be obtained by applying pressure to the plasticleather to mold it. The illustrative apparatus is, therefore, adaptedfirst to apply heat to the margin to shrink it and then to mold or rubthe shrunken margin.

The shrinking means chosen for illustration consists of a searing orscorching tool 1 in the form of a comparatively heavy platinum wire bentdouble, the ends being soldered into slots in the lower ends of twoconducting rods 3 and 5 which are insuas a supporting and feedingmember.

lated from each other and firmly held in a sleeve 7 of insulatingmaterial. The conducting rods terminate at their upper ends in outwardlyturned fiat portions which have threaded posts to receive binding screws9 by means of which conducting Wires or leadsll are attached. The tool 1thus forms part of an electrical circuit and may be heated by passing acurrent of electricity through it.

The sleeve 7 is clamped in a two-part holder 13 by screws as shown inFigs. 1 and a so that it may be adjusted both vertically and angularly.In the illustrative machine the tool is held stationary in adjustedposition while the leather is fed beneath it. The holder 13 is,therefore, provided with a stem 15' which in turn is adjustably clampedin position between plates 17 and 19 by means of screw bolts 21.

In order to guide the leather during the feeding movement and to lift ordirect the margin thereof into position to be acted upon by the searingor shrinking tool, an 30 edge gage 20 has a resilient stem which isfastened to the plate 19 by means of a screw 23 (see Fig. 1). This edgegage is formed at its lower portion with a protruding lip which extendsbeneath the leather and lifts or directs themargin thereof upwardlytoward the shrinking tool. When therefore the margin of the leather isdrawn alongbeneath the tool this edge gage, in addition to its guidingfunction, acts after the manner of a plow and turns the margin of theleather upwardly as is shown in Fig. 8.

In order to feed the leather along and draw it beneath the shrinkingtool, there is mounted upon the base of the machine a table 25 having anaperture to receive a bearing 26 upon which a turn table 27 isarrangedto rotate, said turn table servgig 0.. operating with the turn table isa feed roller 29 held fast on one end of a shaft 31 to the other end ofwhich is attached a pulley 33. This feed roller is frusto-conical inshape with its larger end located toward the rim of the turn table sothat the edge of its outer end bears most heavily upon the leather,engaging it firmly at a single point and thus permitting the leather tobe turned and guided by the operator as he may desire.

When the leather is under the hot tool it is rendered more or lessplastic, and while the desired curling effect may be secured by simplyscaring the back margin of the leather, a still more uniform andsatisfactory finish may be secured by the employment of mechanicalmolding of the leather while plastic. There is accordingly provided aforming guide 35, which in the illustrated machine is integral with andrises above the turn table 27, said guide having a recessed face asshown to receive the edge of the leather. A further function of the feedroller will now be apparent since, owing to its shape, it acts not onlyto feed the leather but to crowd the edge thereof against the curvedface of the forming guide. It will also be clear that this forming guideserves a second function; namely, to guide the leather after it leavesthe shrinking tool. It should also be noted that the feed roller 29rotates in a plane which makes an acute angle with a line from theshrinking tool to the active point of the roller so that the edge of theleather is crowded up to the edge gage 20 and forming guide 35.

It is very desirable that the heat be prevented from reaching the bodyportion of the leather and be restricted to the margin thereof, and tothis end a guard 37 is provided with a forked end which straddles the.shrinking or searing tool 1. The stem of this guard is pivoted at 39 toone member of the two-part holder 13 and is nor mally urged downwardlyby a spring 41, a handle 13 being provided which may be depressed toraise the lower forked end of the guard so as to permit the insertion ofthe piece of leather beneath it preparatory to the feeding of theleather past the tool.

Although the searing tool 1 and the edge gage 20 may, if desired, beadjusted vertically to provide for pieces of leather of differentthickness, it is more satisfactory to adjust the turn table. The shaft45 of the turn table is vertically movable in its bearing and rests uponthe conical upper end of an enlarged head 19 of a screw 47 threaded intothe base of the machine, the head -19 being readily accessible so thatby turning it the shaft i5 and with it the turn table 27 may be raisedand lowered. The lower surface of the edge gage 20 is held at all timesby its resilient stem in contact with the turn table.

The shaft 15 has fast upon its lower end a pulley 51, and an endlessbelt 53 passes around this pulley, over two idle pulleys one of which isshown at 55 and around the pulley 38. The pulley 33'is provided on itsrear face as viewed in Fig. 1 with a friction surface with which a smallfriction gear 57 cooperates, said gear being fast to a sleeve 59 whichis slidable on the driving shaft 61 so as to vary the speed of rotationof the pulley 33 and hence the rate of feed of the leather. The sleeve59 is splined to the driving shaft (31 which is provided with the usualdriving pulley 62. A shifting fork 63 has pins which engage a groovedcollar on the sleeve 59 to move it, and this fork is fast to arock-shaft 65 which is connected by and arm (37 and a rod 69 to atreadle Tl so that when the toe of the treadle is de pressed the rate offeed of the leather is decreased and when. the heel of the treadle isdepressed the rate of feed of the leather is increased.

in order to control the current of electrieitv and thereby thetemperature of the shrinkin tool the current is passed through aresistance box 73 in which is pivoted a lever 75, the construction beingsuch that when the end of said lever is lowered the resistance isincreased. The particular construction of the resistance boX will not bedescribed further since any suitable type may be used. The end of thelever 7 5 is connected with the arm 67 by a link 7 7 and pivots 79 and81. It will thus be apparent that when the toe of the treadle isdepressed to decrease the rate of feed of the leather the current willbe decreased and the temperature of the shrinking or searing toollowered, and that when the heel of the treadle is depressed the rate offeed will be increased and the temperature raised. This is a verydesirable feature of the apparatus since different leathers requiredifferent treatment and since when curved margins such as those at thethroats of Vamps are encountered and the rate of feed is deceased thetemperature of the tool will be automatically lowered.

One of the possible modifications of the apparatus is illustrated inFig. 7, wherein is shown a tool 85 which is adapted to be heated by gasconducted through a pipe 87. This tool may comprise a hollow platinumpoint such as is commonly used in pyrographic work provided with theusual aperture 89 and having located in its interior the usual platinumgauze partition. If this tool is used it will be held by the two partclamp 13 in the same manner in which the electrically heated tool isheld.

In most cases the grain side of the leather lies downward and is curvedupwardly by the shrinking which is produced on the flesh side, but theinvention is in nowise limited to this procedure, since with leathers inwhich the flesh side is the finished side the reverse is true.

The operation of the apparatus is as follows: The guard is lifted andthe piece of leather pushed beneath it and the shrinking tool until itsedge contacts with the edge gage 20. The piece is then moved forwarduntil it is engaged by the feed roller 29,

' the treadle having been manipulated to give the proper rate of feedand temperature of the tool. As the leather is fed. forward its edge islifted by the lip of the gage 20 and directed upwardly into contact withthe hot tool whereby the margin of the upper side is shrunk by beingseared. This heat renders the leather temporarily plastic, and as theedge is crowded against the forming guide 35, said-edge is molded andgiven a more finished appearance. The margin of the under side is thuscurled or drawn up until it is flush with or extends slightly above theupper side as shown in Figs. 2 and 8. Normally the feed roller acts toturn the leather about the forming guide 35, and this action isdesirable when the margin of a concave curve such as that of the throatof a vamp is being operated upon. When a straight margin or a convexlycurved margin is encountered, the operator guides the piece of leatherin the proper direction, this being permitted as has been explained bythe shape of the feed roller.

Although the invention has been set forth in connection with aparticular apparatus it should be understood that the invention is notlimited in the scope of its application to the particular apparatusshown and described.

The invention having thus been described, What is claimed and desired tobe secured by Letters Patent is:

1. An apparatus of the class described comprising means for shrinkingthe margin of a piece of leather and means for protecting the body ofthe piece from the action of said shrinking means.

2. An apparatus of the class described comprising a highly heatedshrinking tool adapted to act on the margin of a piece of leather and aguard arranged to protect the body of the piece and to restrict the heatto said margin.

3; An apparatus of the class described comprising a highly heatedshrinking tool adapted to act upon the margin of a piece of leather anda guard mounted in proximity to said tool and adapted to protect thebody of the piece and to restrict the heat to the margin.

4:. An apparatus of the class described comprising a shrinking means,mechanism for causing said shrinking means to act upon the margin of apiece of leather, means for varying the length of time that saidshrinking means acts upon a given portion of leather, and means forsimultaneously varying the intensity of the action of said shrinkingmeans.

5. An apparatus of the class described comprising a heated tool, meansfor causing the tool to traverse the margin of a piece of leather toshrink it, means for varying the rate of traverse and means operated bythe traverse varying means for correspondingly varying the shrinkingeffect of the tool.

6. An apparatus of the class described comprising a heated shrinkingtool, means for feeding a piece of leather past said tool with itsmargin in contact therewith, means for varying the rate of feed, andmeans operated with the feed varying means for correspondingly varyingthe temperature of the tool.

7. An apparatus of the class described comprising a heating tool in theform of an electrical conductor, means for passing a current ofelectricity through said tool, means for feeding a piece of leather pastsaid tool with its margin in contact therewith, means for varying therate of feed, and means operated with the feed varying means forcorrespondingly controlling the current of electricity.

8. An apparatus of the class described,

- having, in combination, a highly heated tool, a guard arranged toprotect the body of the leather being operated upon and to restrict theheat to the margin, and a plow for turning the margin of the leathertoward the heated tool.

9. An apparatus of the class described comprising a highly heatedshrinking tool adapted to act on the margin of the leather and a guardhaving a portion overlying the body of the piece and located at one sideof said tool to protect the body of the leather from the action of theheat and to restrict said heat to said margin.

10. An apparatus of the class described comprising a highly heatedshrinking tool adapted to act on the margin of the leather, and ayieldingly mounted guard having a portion overlying the body of thepiece and located at one side of said tool to protect the body of theleather from the action of the heat and to restrict said heat to saidmargin.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing Witnesses.

HERBERT E. ENSLIN.

WVitnesses FRED W. GUIBoRD, HERBERT W. KENWAY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C.

